Five Dividend Stocks To Watch

Blue chip dividend stocks usually carry a premium. Often this premium is in excess of what I am willing to pay. With Monday's market slide followed by Tuesday and Wednesday's subsequent recovery, it appears that good stocks can fall into an after-Thanksgiving mark-down sale at anytime. Here are five stocks that I am watching closely, with their Risk Quality (RQ) rating and other information as of 12/1/2008:

I. Procter & Gamble Co. (PG )

• RQ: A1
  
• Yield: 2.49%
• Buy Below: $59.70
• 12/1/2008 Close: $60.49
  
• % Change since 12/31/2007: -17.6% ($73.42)

II. Wells Fargo & Company (WFC)

• RQ: A2
  
• Yield: 4.71%
  
• Buy Below: $26.44
• 12/1/2008 Close: $23.41
• % Change since 12/31/2007: -22.5% ($30.19)
  

III. Kimberly-Clark Corporation (KMB)

• RQ: A2
  
• Yield: 4.02%
  
• Buy Below: $52.87
• 12/1/2008 Close: $55.02
• % Change since 12/31/2007: -20.7% ($69.34)
  

IV. Progress Energy, Inc. (PGN)

• RQ: A5
  
• Yield: 6.20%
  
• Buy Below: $36.95
• 12/1/2008 Close: $37.73
• % Change since 12/31/2007: -22.1% ($48.43)
  

V. The Coca-Cola Company (KO)

• RQ: A2
  
• Yield: 3.24%
  
• Buy Below: $45.35
• 12/1/2008 Close: $44.33
• % Change since 12/31/2007: -27.8% ($61.37)
  

When the market is in a free-fall, it is important to concentrate on quality. Each of the above stocks has a RQ rating of A5 or better. Their share price has declined significantly less that the 44.1% decrease of S&P 500 as measured by VFINX ($135.15 down to $75.54). I suspect Monday was not the last after-Thanksgiving sale of 2008.

As always, you should perform your own research and reach your own conclusion before buying or selling an investment security.

Full Disclosure: As of this writing, I was long in VFINX, PG, PGN and KO


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